Congratulations to Sean Hovendick, assistant professor and Coordinator of the Graphic + Media Design BFA program at Sage College of Albany! Professor Hovendick recently took 2nd place at the Lakeside Statewide Juried Art Exhibition. The exhibit displayed diverse works of art from artists throughout New York State.

Sean’s work titled, Be a Man / Sugar and Spice is an interactive piece showing looped audio/visual clips from sitcoms of the 70’s and 80’s. Gender roles typically portrayed on these television shows are presented on two separate touch screen monitors, one for the man Be a Man, and one for the woman Sugar and Spice.

Television has great power to influence behavior of its viewers. Professor Hovendick’s work allows people to examine how men and women were commonly portrayed during the years these sitcoms were playing on TV. The artwork also intends the viewer to realize that continuous viewing of certain behaviors in the media have an emotional toll our psyche… most times without us even knowing. “[…] will the power of television forever be the driving force of cultural control?”